Well, it’s over. And honestly, here at the end not a lot needs to be said except for “Bravo!”. Read more
Rakugo
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Sukeroku Futatabi-hen – 11
Where to begin – that’s the first of many hard questions facing me as I sit down at the keyboard. Read more
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Sukeroku Futatabi-hen – 10
Well, you know the drill by now, gentle readers. Somehow, some way, I have to make sense of that – to try and do justice. Read more
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Sukeroku Futatabi-hen – 08
I always need a bit of time to process what I’ve watched after an episode of this series, but this week was especially hard-hitting. Read more
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Sukeroku Futatabi-hen – 05
Who’s up for a series that’s nothing but Ishida Akira performing the classics of rakugo for 12 episodes? Why not 26? Read more
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Sukeroku Futatabi-hen – 04
Every time I think it can’t top itself, it tops itself. Read more
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 13 (Season Finale)
Time to breathe a big sigh of relief. Read more
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 12
If tragedy as a dramatic form is knowing the ending and being fascinated in watching it play out, then tragedy in human form is seeing the folly in one’s actions yet being unable to avoid them. Read more
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 11
Rakugo is the spider web that ties the characters in this story together, but the thing that strikes me is that it’s really love that ties them – because what they share is their love for rakugo, not the rakugo itself. Read more
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 10
This series is the complete polar opposite of the final words of Macbeth’s speech – “Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”. Read more